McCarthy Leads Softball to Upset Wins, Top NESCAC Rank

Author: Kate Nerenberg

This past week, the Middlebury softball team continued to turn away opponents on its way to a number one ranking in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) West division. The team is now 14-7 overall, boasting a school-record number of wins, and has extended its red-hot winning streak to 10 games with two victories over both Castleton and Amherst.
On Thursday, the Panthers traveled to Castleton where they continued their extraordinary hitting powers and played off the confidence of an unbeaten past week. The first game of the doubleheader was a true team effort, as six different players connected at the plate twice. Christina Freyer '04 recorded three RBI while Lindsay Ladd '03 and Co-captain Kelly Slack '03 chipped in with two RBI apiece. Adding to her impressive numbers from last week, Ladd again pounded away at the plate, resulting in the team's only homer of the week.
Although the Panthers jumped out and scored two runs right away in the top of the first inning, the Spartans fought back and tied the game at six in the fourth. After two scoreless innings, Middlebury broke out with a huge four-run seventh inning to take home the 10-6 victory. Lauren Bowe '04 pitched 3 1/3 innings before Megan McCarthy '05 relieved her to earn the win for a personal 3-3 record.
In the next contest, the Spartans recorded the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning and held the Panthers scoreless until the top of the third. However, Middlebury did not allow Castleton any more room to breathe. In what proved to be a much closer battle, Middlebury pulled ahead by one run in the top of the fifth before sealing the 4-1 win with two more wins in the seventh. Using strong defense, the Panthers registered 12 hits to their opponents' six. Lauren Guza '05, Kathryn Hurd '06 and Freyer all went 3-4 (.750) at the plate and Andrea Russo '03 pitched the entire game to record her fifth win of the season.
Going into Saturday's big NESCAC showdown with top-ranked Amherst, Head Coach Diane Boettcher felt her team was feeling the "leadership and confidence," as well as "a 'find a way to win' mentality" that had earned it eight straight wins. Sure enough, as both games of the doubleheader proved to be highly intense, the Panthers did find a way to win.
"McCarthy was very composed and went the distance," Boettcher said of her pitcher that threw for both games. "We had three goals, one of which was to get the pitchers in the 'K zone,' one was to unload hits off the Amherst pitcher and one was to be spot-on fielding bunts. Lauren Battaglia '06 denied them two bunts immediately. Guza and Hurd had big bats right in a row. Katie Harrison '05.5 had a surprise bunt with two outs for an RBI. It was magical," Boettcher explained of the complete team effort it took to topple the Lord Jeffs.
In the first of the two games, Middlebury held Amherst scoreless until the seventh inning, when the Lord Jeffs could only manage one run. Meanwhile, in the bottom of the first, with runners on second and third, a single by Ladd turned into an RBI as Guza crossed the plate. In the fifth inning, Guza again scored after reaching third on a triple. Hurd sent her home with a single. Along with her fourth win of the season, McCarthy recorded six strikeouts against the Lord Jeffs and the Panthers were able to make the most of it, leaving with a 2-1 win.
The second game was almost as close. This time, however, the Panthers completely stopped Amherst, holding it scoreless for a 2-0 victory, with runs coming in the first and sixth innings. In the first inning, after a Hurd triple, both Freyer and Ladd were walked, loading the bases. Harrison's single RBI sent Hurd over the plate for the first run. After five scoreless innings, the Panthers struck again. On a sacrifice bunt by Slack, Micheala George '04 advanced to second and then went home on an ensuing Guza double. McCarthy pitched another full game, only allowing two hits and striking out four players.
The Panthers will look to continue their streak even further when they host Green Mountain on Thursday. In their last two NESCAC games of the regular season, the Panthers will travel to Hamilton on Saturday.
"Our eye is on a possible NESCAC bid now, where before it was merely on stealing away a few key games. The team now has an 'expect to win' mentality. We look at the opponents one at a time," Boettcher said of the team's newfound glory.